Future remorse on direct provision

Sir, – I saw no mention in your various round-ups of 2013 about how the direct provision system of dealing with asylum-seekers in Ireland will, in time, become the defining characteristic of our country.

I’m sure in years to come there will be plenty of remorse and hand-wringing and perhaps even an apology in the Dáil, but this wrong is occurring right now, on our watch. Meanwhile, those responsible lobby hypocritically for an amnesty for Irish economic migrants in other countries. Can we not just learn from past mistakes instead of repeating them all the time? – Yours, etc,

ADRIAN WHITE,

Portacarron,

Knocknacarra,

Galway.